MS Dhoni opens up about the importance of a good captain-coach relationship

Former Indian skipper MS Dhoni spoke about the importance of a good captain-coach relationship for the first time since the Virat Kohli-Anil Kumble saga. The 36-year-old wicketkeeper batsman returns to the squad as India kick-off their five-match ODI series against Sri Lanka on Sunday.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Kedar Jadhav were invited to give a pep talk to the coaches at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bangalore as the session had some top coaches from India and Australia.

And one of them told TOI about the event, “It was more of a pep talk for the coaches from Dhoni for about 20-25 minutes. He spoke about how to maintain a good working relationship between the captain and coach so that it creates a good team environment.”

The World Cup winning captain was known for his calm demeanor on the pitch but the fact that his reign was a controversy free one was perhaps the biggest highlight of his stint as captain. Further, even when he was questioned about the recent saga between his successor and former coach Anil Kumble, which eventually ended with Kumble stepping down from his post, owing to his "untenable" equation with Kohli, Dhoni shed some light on the importance of the captain-coach relationship, without specifically naming anyone.

One of the Australian coaches present for the session was former Australian fast bowler Jason Gillespie and speaking to the media, the former Australian assistant coach said, “It was excellent listening to both MSD and Kedar. They spoke about the importance of confidence and simplicity. The local Indian coaches have been open to new ideas to complement their own coaching work, learning new things. Well done to the BCCI and CA for working together with this.”

Both Dhoni and Jadhav have joined the Indian squad ahead of their limited overs series against Sri Lanka. India plays five ODI's and one T20I starting from Sunday.